Learnin’ The Blues

3 more days! 3! Just 3! It’s so close I can almost taste the Tootsie Rolls and cherry Lifesavers. Frank Sinatra Day is just over the hill and our countdown continues! Yesterday we began 4 Reasons Frank Sinatra Has Influenced Your Life, and gave the first reason. Today we get to continue!

Frank working in the studio.

Reason #2: Frank redefined music.

For Frank, it was always about the music from day one. When learning a new song, he would sit down with just the lyrics, so that at that point it was just a poem. He wouldn’t just learn the words themselves, he would learn what the meant and what the song was trying to say. It was this approach to his music that gave him the deep appeal that he had from the start. People loved him because when he sang, you somehow knew that he meant every word of it. He cared about every part of a song, every word and every note of music.

He wanted to make ripples with his music and reach people not just on the surface. His music found a way into the hearts of so many. In no way am I suggesting that Frank was the first or the only one to do this, but the way he did it was just different. There was always something about Frank that was just different. He changed what it meant to be a star, he changed what music was supposed to mean. It wasn’t just words and a tune, it was something that could reach inside your soul. When reading about him in various books, you can find evidence of this. Many people remember him for the way he sang and what music meant to him; for what he wanted it to mean to others.

When Frank Sinatra stepped onto that stage, music was simply destined to be different. Frank once said, “Whatever else has been said about me personally is unimportant. When I sing, I believe. I’m honest.” Frank may have been a wonderful humanitarian and actor, but music was always at his heart and the way he went about everything. Much of his humanitarian work was done through singing, for example. Not only was it his life, he happened to change it in the process. Music was changed by Frank Sinatra, and is the way it is today because of that change.